New Age Detective
by NaruTard 1.5
Summary: One year after the closing of the Dark Tournament, Yuske's friends and loved ones take entirely different paths. 30 years have gone by since that day, a new era has begun in both the spirit and human worlds. New faces arrive and some old faces return, but one question remains, without Yuske, who will be the next spirit detective.
1. Case File 1

Authors Note:

1: Never underestimate the potential of an AU (Alternate Universe) or a NG (Next Generation) fanfic.

2: Never underestimate the potential of combining the two ideas (Alternate Universe and Next Generation) together to bring something new to the table.

3: The Fourth Wall (Technically the Fourth Law which is the fictional "barrier" between audience and characters in a show or book) is like any other rule, it was made to be broken~

4: Only matters to fans of the show who've seen more than a few episodes; this story takes place assuming the remainder of the series after the "Dark Tournament" story arc never happened. Most canonical events are either unchanged or have minimal changes for plot significant reasons.

5: This fiction begins about 30 years after the cut-off point mentioned above

6: I will be as loyal to the anime as possible, keeping in style with the subtle humor and doing my best to keep the Canon characters in character. (Minus a select few but it's a surprise as to why :P ) if you see anyone acting out of character feel free to let me know.

7: Lastly (And most importantly) since only a few of the cast are actually canon you don't need to be super-informed about the fandom of Yu Yu Hakisho to enjoy this story. You may want to sit through the first couple of episodes, but it's not required. Actually if you're unsure about the canon characters all it takes is a quick google search, wiki is my best friend in this regard.

Prologue:

The time of day is four AM, the location is Reikai or as it's more commonly known, the spirit world; although this is the realm where souls come to take their final judgment there are other important places within spirit world as well. It is a high-tech, high security and top secret location known only as The Vault, where powerful artifacts not meant for mankind to wield are held, years ago three artifacts were stolen; the Orb of Baast, a sphere which could steal souls, The Forlorn Hope, a mirror that could grant anyone who gazed into it a single wish at the cost of their own life, and finally the Shadow Sword, a blade that can turn whoever is cut by it into a demon if they weren't demons already. Although those artifacts were recovered by the spirit detective, another artifact has become the target of an ordinary human with not-so-ordinary powers.

"Yeah, and it'd be a lot easier to steal it if I didn't have to pretend like a character in a freaking spy movie…" the unknown human who'd snuck his way into spirit world uttered under his breath as he made his way through the air vents of the building.

It was no small feat for the six foot tall high school student with a somewhat scrawny build to even make it this far into The Vault in the first place, undetected no less. Of course his target was none other than a recently discovered artifact that had the power of water, the Gem of Usunagi; on the outside it appears to be a jade gemstone roughly the size of a human heart carved into the shape of a tear, it does however contain immense power. For that reason it was sealed in a countless array of laser sensors, protected by a powerful shield of spirit energy and kept locked in an air tight glass cube. Feeling a bit more creative than usual our thief carefully disarmed the lasers by placing small mirrors in key places along their paths. He then worked his way over to the glass casing's security panel located conveniently in the same pedestal, making short work of the security measures as he attempted to cut a big enough hole through the glass.

"Dang it…not my stinking allergies-Ah..acho! Eh…huh, I thought for sure that'd set off the—I just _had_ to jinx myself didn't I?" The figure thought aloud as he failed to stop spit from his boisterous sneeze from setting off the floor sensors which caused an alarm to sound.

"Intruder alert, intruder alert, robbery in progress in sector seventeen; all security personnel capture suspect at any cost!" The alarm system called out repeatedly as the thief disconnected his cables he used to suspend himself in the air in order to make his getaway.

Our crook half expected to get caught on his second trip to this vault this month, that's right; he'd been through this before with some other losers. The security was too much and they bailed, leaving him with the task of escaping with the gem the first time. There was a very significant reason he felt guilty, but the sudden rush of ogres in military uniforms wielding what looked like stun riffles and pointing them at his head and heart.

"You, you're not even a demon- what the hell do you think you're doing stealing from the spirit world?! ANSWER ME!" One of the soldiers, obviously the leader of the pack shouted furiously as he prepared to fire the weapon on the intruder.

"First: I'm returning something, not stealing it-Second, who made it a rule that only demons could steal from this place? And Finally, I don't think you know who you're dealing with…" The intruder uttered in a smug tone as he pulled an identical, albeit slightly smaller gemstone from his pocket. "Of course I got personal uses for this little thing, maybe I will keep it, cause you don't have the guts to fire on me." The thief held out his open hand and put a finger out like it was a pistol, and a small blue light started to glow at the tip of his finger as he aimed at the guard captain's head.

"Y-Yuske Urameshi, that's impossible-you're the last spirit detective, but you're not supposed to exist, let alone being a thief! You're supposed to be one of the good guys too!" The captain's assistant blurted out in an astonished tone, which caused the masked thief to cock a brow.

"Yuske Urameshi; what and who the crap are these guys blathering about, hmm…all this spirit world bullshit just got a whole lot more interesting…" The thief uttered underneath his breath as he aimed his finger at the headlights hanging from the ceiling.

After a few seconds of charging, he fired small blue energy blasts, seven to be exact; shattering the lights above his head and causing the room to become nearly pitch black. Once the ogres were fighting blind, the thief charged at the captain, even though the ogres fought back, they were no match for his Maui Tai; weaving through their strikes from muscle memory alone. When the thief was through playing with them he pulled a few cherry bombs from one of the pockets of his black ninja suit, and subsequently disappeared into a puff of red smoke without a trace just before the lights that weren't shattered came back on.

Case File 1: A Diamond and A Fox

Mere weeks later, in an average school known as Sharayashiki Junior High a particularly well known student spends his lunch hours brooding over the harsh words of his martial arts instructor. The sounds of his shouts could be heard from down the hallway, and the sound of flesh pounding against a two hundred pound gym bag echoed the hollow walls of the school's gymnasium.

"Legs up, eyes forward-don't lose focus you little twat!" It was an old woman's voice of all things, a woman who sounded roughly in her eighties, definitely not someone you'd expect to be a coach of any kind.

"Freaking old bag; how do you expect me to pay attention if you're constantly breathing down my neck! I may be a natural learner but I'm not a miracle worker~" The source of the loud thrusts retorted as he tried to keep up with his drills.

"There are two kinds of men in this world, stupid and stupider, I really sense potential in you ya little snot so you'd better appreciate what I'm trying to teach you. Hmm…oh look, it seems you have a fan…" The old woman barked back sternly as she looked at the entryway to the gymnasium from the school hallways.

"You're…Koga Yukimura right, the second highest ranking member of our schools Karate club? Are the rumors true…" Koga immediately cocked his head toward the voice asking about his name; it was a girl from his class.

The girl was tall, a full three inches higher than his five foot nine inch stature; she had long, red hair going down to her waist; aside from the cheap anime schoolgirl outfit that had a skirt so short she'd likely freeze to death if there was a draft blowing, she was significantly blessed in well, just the right areas. Not too small, not too big, and most importantly just bouncy enough to make anyone do a quick double-take at any anime convention. There was a cost to this beauty though, one that kind of annoyed Koga to a fault, she was a classic teacher's pet; always on time, she never fought with the teachers, never joined the cheerleading squad for god knows what reason.

"You don't have to be so freaked, I don't care what rumors are about me you've heard the only ones that are true are the ones that say my instructors a twisted old hag. You're…Shinku Hokusei right, the transfer student that came in about a year ago? I've heard lotsa rumors about you too~" Koga uttered with a small grin and a smug tone as he noticed her shoulders shaking a bit nervously.

"Well I can say that I'm surprised you remember me seeing as I sit right next to you in most of your evening classes! Wait-what rumors have you heard about me exactly?" Shinku responded curiously as she tilted her head to the side at Koga's statement.

Surely he didn't know her biggest secret, there was no way any of her fellow classmates knew about that, not even her mother knew. Shinku was perplexed by it, and as she eyed Koga's two layered Karate Gi that had the Kanji for bear on the front she noted his slightly muscular build; whatever training methods the old lady was using sure worked wonders for his figure. One of the things that made her really curious about him was his spirit energy; he was strong enough to be a class C, possibly even a class B with enough training. Shinku observed the frail looking old woman next, she could sense the spirit power of an A class, maybe even stronger demon within her; very few mortals had that kind of power. She'd seen the red jacket with gold lining around it's edges and the white pants and sleeves along with the blue hat with the Kanji for master on it somewhere before, oddly Shinku couldn't place a finger on why.

"I heard from our biology teacher that you have a sad case of Phytophilia…" Koga answered with a light chuckle, as his statement made Shinku do a face plant into the ground from embarrassment. "Relax, I was kidding; hey grams, mind giving us a little alone time…?" Koga finished as he glanced over at his teacher, Shinku would probably flip a wig if she found out her name.

Koga's instructor looked first at her student and then at the young woman that had interrupted their training session, she couldn't quite place it but there was something off about her. It didn't feel like an evil being, but it was absurdly powerful, she walked over to Koga with her arms behind her back and glanced at him from the corner of her eyes.

_Listen to me very carefully dimwit, I want you to befriend this woman and keep an eye on her. She could prove to be quite useful in the near future; call it a hunch of an aged woman._ She stated with a rather grim tone through a telepathic message.

Koga couldn't help but feel a little surprised, what use could this annoying teacher's pet have besides helping with his grades? Regardless of the cause, he figured he would take Gen Kai's advice; after all she wasn't the world's most powerful psychic for nothing. Usually her hunches were spot on, she told his father that he was going to get hit by a car and survive when he was ten; and that did happen, what actually happened after that is a bittersweet memory now. There was something really grating about Shinku, but he could bear with it if he got something good out of it.

Chapter Outro

Hey there everyone, Koga Yukimura here~ look I know you think I'm just another copy and paste next generation knock off in an average fanfiction! But hey, don't give up on me just yet, there's a heck of a lot more action planned. You'll never guess why that annoying classmate is so interested in me, let alone the old hag, and I find out a few things about myself I didn't even know! I don't care if you're a fan of the show or the manga, whatever the case; you never know what's going to happen in the next chapter! So be patient, give it a chance, and keep reading okay, my life could depend on it~


	2. Case File 2

Case 2: Fox Out of The Bag

Koga honestly didn't know what to think about this Shinku girl, first she doesn't talk to him at all for the first few weeks she's attended the school; and now she's suddenly interested in him because a bunch of rumors. It wasn't like she wasn't decent-looking enough, oh no, she was almost perfect, it was her almost OCD obsession with showing up on time, studying plants, and turning her work in early. People who sucked up to their bosses or teachers really annoyed Koga for various reasons, but those would have to be revealed another time since he was lost in Shinku's eyes. Just the way she stood, the way she acted in class, it reminded him a lot of his mother before the divorce happened, well it wasn't so much of a divorce as it was a straight up disappearing act.

"You know, I've been interested in you for some time…since I started attending this school." Shinku uttered with a small flush in her face, pausing a moment before continuing. "Could you…perhaps…fight me, I promise I won't go easy on you!" Her enthusiasm was only outclassed by her innocent demeanor as she finally spoke up about what was on her mind.

"Gah…f-fight me…you can't be serious!" Koga nearly collapsed to the floor from the surprising challenge. "Uh- I could but…to be honest you really don't look like you're built to be a fighter…" he finished a little cautiously as he eyed her over once more.

While most of the vicious rumors about him were false, the two or three rumors about his skill in martial arts were absolutely true; Shinku looked like a broad shouldered, sparkly eyed, happy and annoying person in her best mood. She clearly wasn't built for fighting, as he eyed her long, thin legs and trim arms, there was no possible way she could hope to win. Unless she decided to try and seduce him; which honestly Shinku didn't seem like the seductive type anyway.

"You're silly Koga, appearances can be quite deceiving, haven't you ever heard the phrase don't judge a book by its cover~" She chimed playfully as she began to stretch and do some warm up exorcises. "Tell you what tough guy, if you can pin me to the ground four times I'll take you out to the movies to see that new film you've been chatting about." Shinku was mainly taunting him, no normal human could possibly pin her down at her best.

"Wait, what? " Koga uttered in complete surprise as he watched her take a fairly decent fighting stance, her posture, just like everything about her was technically decent.

Koga had to stop and think for a moment, no girl in her right mind would want to go out with him; he'd been to Juvenile hall a few times, he'd gotten mixed up in a weird gang for a bit, and she was too kind and sweet for his tastes. He did like her looks, but he would prefer a woman with a bit more spirit in her. Though he couldn't help but think about Gen Kai's advice, apparently if the world's strongest psychic was interested there had to be something good to come out of befriending them.

"Okay fine—but don't go crying to the nurse when I bruise up that pretty face; hold on, what do you get if you manage to pin me down four times?" Koga was actually a little curious as he spoke, her prize sounded a little too good to be true.

"If I pin you down I get to take you out to the movies~" Shinku stated with a smug smirk on her face as she cracked her muscles.

"Hold up-what the hell is the difference between those two options?" Koga blinked in confusion, she was suggesting the same reward for both victory and defeat, there had to be some catch.

"Typical hu-er male behavior, I'm not as cut and dry as I look; but if you must have an explanation, and I'm sure you do…I'll tell you." Shinku paused as she started to focus her spirit power a little, she wanted to intimidate him. "If you're going out with me, it's a cute little romance, if I'm dating you, it's a _charity_…get it?" She put as much sarcasm into the phrase charity as she could, intending to insult him rather than merely tease him.

_Well, well…isn't this a piece of crap; she's looking at me like I'm some delinquent guy with no personality! Okay pretty girl, let's see how taunting you are with my fist in your face!_ Koga thought bitterly as he gave her a sour glare and took his fighting stance, gently sliding one foot backward as he eyed her for openings.

"Yes~ your face tells me you accept, but let's let our hearts and fists prove which of us is more worthy of the others time—what!" Shinku chimed a bit playfully before she was cut off with Koga's first attack.

At first it seemed like he was charging her like he was charging at her with the coordination of a bull in a china shop, but as the fight started to drag on he started picking up her strikes. It was interesting; he would dodge one of her counters, then fake a block and strike with an arm or leg of the opposite side he was blocking. The way he paused briefly before rushing forward, was he plotting something; or waiting for her to attack, it was impossible to know for sure. Words could not describe the thrill of the many backflips and dodges that she had to endure; he was fast, almost too fast for her liking. Her father had mentioned having a friend like this boy; strong, confident, reckless and above all, loyal. She hated the humans, they smelled different and their spirit energy irritated her to the point of frustration at times, the one question on her mind as she narrowly escaped being pinned down to the ground a third time was how in the world he could keep up with her. After they both grappled for quite a while she was surprised when Koga simply released his grip on her fists and backed off a little, giving her a chance to catch a breath.

"Alright…we're done here, this gamble is invalid…see you in the next class we're in together…" Koga uttered seriously as he started to walk out of the room, with no implication that he had other plans.

"Wait! You can't up and quit the fight just like that, at least explain why you're quitting you coward!" Shinku spat out furiously as she watched him stop at the door to the gym in order to take a few breaths.

"Simple-you're holding back, I'm not about to go all out on a girl who's afraid to get her nails chipped in a fight. You've got a lot more spirit energy than you're leading on, I don't care what your reason is you don't have to hide crap like that from me." Koga explained bluntly as he turned around and faced her to see if she had something interesting to show him.

"Haha, you're a very perceptive human; I honestly didn't think any human besides Yuske Yurameshi, Gen Kai, and Kuwabara could sense spirit power. Very well then, I will show you my true form, if you swear to keep it a secret~" Shinku couldn't help but chuckle a little, it was cute that the human thought he knew everything about her.

Koga cocked a brow as Shinku mentioned the phrase human as well as mentioning the two humans that won the last Dark Tournament before disappearing from human world several years ago. Now he was actually curious about Shinku, more about who she was than what this supposed true form was. He smiled as he watched her form a familiar handseal, it was the one meant for focusing spirit energy in the body, at first he sensed a small spark, afterward she started to glow with a thin, blue outline, finally a huge wave of spirit energy filled the room with such force that it created wind around her feet.

_Damn, I can feel her power from here and despite what she thinks I'm not that great at sensing spirit energy to begin with; this isn't going to be good!_ Koga thought in shock as his body started trembling, his mind began to race with questions.

It was hard enough watching her spirit energy dig a small one centimeter deep crater around where she was standing, but sparks of lightening were forming around her as well; Shinku's power kept swelling and swirling until it shattered the windows of the gymnasium in a bright flash of light. Once Koga regained his vision he was a bit surprised at what he saw, Shinku had grown about three years older, and her hair had turned from red to a silver color, one of the more notable changes was a pair of large fox ears on her head and a tail to match!

"Well little human, you know my secret…but now you will see the depths of my strength!" Shinku charged toward Koga, briefly vanishing from plain sight as she appeared mere inches away from him, grasping him by the belt and his shirt collar.

"You've gotta be kidding me-hey, what are you-don't tell me you're gonna do what I think you are?~ Can't we talk this over?" Koga spat out nervously as he was lifted off the ground without a single sign of effort from Shinku's body.

In one swift move, Shinku had heaved Koga over her head and thrown him at least seven feet into the air, of course this also meant that he was sent several feet across the gymnasium, smashing past the gym bag and colliding into the bleachers. Thank goodness for Gen Kai's endurance training, Koga could barely stumble to his feet after feeling the brunt of her throw, it didn't take him long to recover though. Once the boy had caught his breath and recovered, Shinku couldn't believe her ears, he was laughing at her, it started as a slow chuckle, then gradually grew into a boisterous laughter.

"You dare mock me, I don't care what kind of training that old fossil put you through; there's no reason to laugh at a female opponent. We're both fighters so you should see us as equals!" Shinku's tone was far from appreciative as she crossed her arms underneath her chest.

"Ha, not to worry princess, I'm not laughing at you because I think women are weak or that I think you're something to be mocked…" Koga uttered seriously as he stepped down off of the bleachers and onto stable ground.

"Then why do you laugh…there's no logical explanation…" Shinku questioned bitterly with confusion clearly in her eyes.

"It's just, I didn't expect such a voluptuous creature to hide such incredible power under that skirt; ha, no wonder you didn't like me trying to sneak a peek that day we met." Koga had to admit, Shinku was damn sexy before and these changes only enhanced it, of course he didn't have the balls to admit it to her face.

At first Shinku stared blankly at the boy's response in surprise as she watched him crack his knuckles, and take off the top layer of his Karate Gi; when he threw that half of the outfit to the side it hid the ground with a thud. It had to weigh ten, maybe fifteen pounds at the least; moreover she could sense his spirit energy growing. It wasn't an enormous burst, but more a small trickle, then after a while it became a gushing stream; not quite as powerful as her own spirit energy, but it was enough to leave an impression.

"Well now, since both our powers are rising a little, what do you say about raising the stakes…" Shinku proposed with a surprisingly formal tone in her voice, something Koga didn't expect to hear.

"Oh well if you insist, what would you suggest we wager then…can't have a cliffhanger without a good hook you know~" Koga chimed somewhat playfully as he took a moment to relax his body, not adjusting his stance at all while doing so.

"Alright-if you can pin me to the ground once for ten counts, I'll be your girlfriend, and if I can pin you to the ground for ten counts…" Shinku paused and took one step back to prepare for her second round of attacks. "You hand over the gem of Usunagi." She finished seductively as she gave him a bone-chilling glare directly in the eyes.

Koga almost fell over from shock when he heard the cost of losing the bout with her, for one he'd never even mentioned he had the gem and also for the fact that she had offered to be his girlfriend. Why the heck would a fox spirit want a gem with the power of water anyway, sure he'd heard it was worth loads on the black market but that was beside the point. Either way, he wasn't about to lose to a demon even if she was a relatively familiar and friendly schoolmate; come to think of it she was one of the few people who didn't avoid him like the plague.

Case wrap up:

Hey, it's Koga again, yeah yeah I bet you're thinking the author is being a little _too_ loyal to the Anime what with these character wrap-ups at the end of each chapter am I right? Well suck it up cause I've got a sneak peek for you, not only do I duke it out with a hot fox lady, but well, I won't spoil it. Oh, and there's something funny about a spirit power I pick up right after our fight. Be sure all that and maybe more in the next chapter, see ya'll there~ Hold on, who did Shinku say her father was again?


	3. Case 3

Case 3: An Alleyway Murder

After a very brief stare-down Koga took note of his spirit power compared to hers, there was only a slight difference; he couldn't place it, something about Shinku's true form didn't feel like traditional demon energy felt. In fact, if anything she still felt like she was using the spirit energy that a human would produce, if all the lights and sounds were just special effect, maybe she was trying to freak him out.

"I can sense it, you're already doubting my power, what, because I'm a woman?" Shinku's personality had become cynical, still herself, just a darker corner of it.

"It's not that you're a woman, it's that you don't look like the fighting type…either way, you sure you'll hold up your end of the bet if I win?" Koga responded with a bit of a serious tone of his own, however his voice still seemed laid back.

Shinku didn't question his logic, there was something else about the way he was looking at her now; inside the harmless looking human body; the eyes of a beast were glaring at her. The raw sensation that he was ready to take her seriously, it made her fox ears twitch with joy, this opponent would be entertaining at the very least. Tired of the deadlock in the psychological aspect of the fight, Shinku took her fighting stance, by all definitions of the term; she left herself wide open for an attack.

"How cute, you actually think you can compete with me; well then, if you're so confident I'll let you take the first strike~" Shinku stated playfully as she simply flicked her wrist in Koga's direction.

That one small act caused a thread of spirit energy to form, it came and went almost as quick as a spring breeze; leaving Koga with a small cut along his cheek that started bleeding immediately. Koga was at first struck with fear; then anxiety welled up within him, and finally it became curiosity. He wasn't about to let a woman taunt him with such a simple attack, so he charged at her, not quite using all of his power but still pretty close to his maximum. He vanished from plain sight and appeared in front of her before starting a large sweeping kick aiming for her head, if she wanted a full on fight, she would get one.

Unfortunately even at his fastest pace his strike was seemingly predicted as just before the kick could connect Shinku instantly and gracefully moved to the side slightly; stopping the strike with no great struggle. Really, a simple kick, this boy had no grace, no pride; he was just a wild bull, and this became more apparent as she started attacking him. The two were locked in combat, moving at speeds far too quickly for a normal human to follow unaided, by her calculations Shinku was throwing at least eight punches per second. The unnerving part being that the human actually managed to dodge most of them, the ones that weren't dodged got blocked at least to some extent by his spirit power, simply barbaric.

_Jesus…what is this dragonball, I mean I can barely track her movements let alone block them; I don't care if she is a fox girl, I gotta know more about her!_ Koga thought in frustration as he finally started to notice a pattern in her strikes.

After being on the defensive position for a few minutes Koga had realized something, she was purposefully aiming for pressure points; more than that, she was aiming for the ones that would damage him the most if they made a direct hit at the perfect angle. She never attempted to strike with the same limb or from the same angle; it was intriguing how someone could be so calculating in the heat of battle. If he was going to hit her, let alone knock her off her feet, he would have to employ some of his spirit energy. It was finally time to attack after he enveloped his fist in a glowing blue light, though to most people this energy was undetectable; Shinku sensed it immediately and attempted to block, just barely missing her chance to do so. When fighting at these speeds even the slightest bit of contact felt like a cannon ball, or close to it, this punch was no different as she was sent sliding backward almost two feet from her opponent.

"Impressive…a human who uses their spirit power to protect their skin, I see now you have no ordinary teacher so I won't hold it against you if you want to quit~" Shinku stated with an almost sinister grin as she began focusing her spirit power into her hands.

The spirit energy caused her fingernails to grow sharp and hard, and they glowed a bright red; Shinku half wondered if the human knew what kind of fight he was getting into. Once she was through hardening and sharpening her short claws, she vanished even from Koga's heavily trained eyes for a brief second. A split second later the first layer of Koga's Karate Gi was more or less torn to ribbons, leaving quite a few cuts along his body before a strong impact to his stomach. This attack would send an average human into the next county, but Shinku was surprised once more as she watched him slide back a few feet, almost leaning against the wall near the bleachers.

"Heh, you're not the only one with moves princess~ what, you think that old fossil was teaching me kiddie moves and parlor tricks?" Koga questioned with a small smirk, he directed his attention to the soles of his shoes; the bottom layers were glowing with red spirit energy, if only a little bit.

"I see…" Shinku glared at the boy's shoes in a bit of surprise for a moment, and smiled warmly at him. "You used your spirit energy to weigh yourself down and reduce the friction so you wouldn't slide back as much—clever little twat aren't you?" That warm smile became a sadistic one as Shinku finished speaking.

This human was particularly gifted in manipulating his spirit energy, Shinku didn't take long to recognize that, but she couldn't help but crave more of his power. It was a sort of odd fascination with a male, let alone a human male that she'd never had before. When Koga started attacking her once more she noticed something, the lad would pause briefly before each attack, almost as if he was taunting her to push him further. Eventually the movement speed between the two became near equal, just like their spirit power; not one of them was showing any signs of backing down or wearing out, even after about half an hour of intense fighting. As time went on, it started to feel like it was slowing down; the sound of the gymnasium's clock ticking was really starting to piss her off. Shinku hated losing a fight, especially to a male, but she hated being late for her studies even more.

_Come on Koga, think, she's just another opponent—there's got to be something I can do to catch her off guard, or throw her off balance. Wait, balance…that's it, I just hope there's not some sick Karmic payback planned._ Koga thought to himself as the tension of the fight began to build to a peak, which was annoying him anyway.

Koga admittedly wasn't very smart, as far as actually being intelligent was concerned; a tragic accident of growing up in the streets, well sort of, he had a house but that was beside the point. There wasn't any opponent he couldn't defeat, chalk it up to years of playing video games, namely fighting games. He waited until about fifteen seconds before their next class would start, appeared mere inches away from behind her, and flat out groped her chest. Hey, it was the only thing he could think of, plus, he was curious if they were real or not anyway.

"Hehe…wow, I'm actually surprised these are made of natural flesh—ya know, the way they bounce when you walked down the hall did seem kind of fake!" Koga made sure that his tone was as taunting as he could be, and gave them a soft squeeze for the road before finding that she had grabbed him by his shirt with both arms.

"You…perverted…insolent…hentai—minded…prick!" Shinku hissed in embarrassment as she gripped his shirt as tightly as she could, to the point where her nails dug deeply into his skin.

Due to the boy using his spirit power as a weight, it was difficult to lift him off the ground, let alone launch him into the next country; no man had ever made such a bold and gutter-minded claim about her appearance before. She was shocked when she managed to throw him straight up at the ceiling, exerting more power than she intended in that one attack; and she was shocked once more when Koga acrobatically flipped himself over in the air, kicked off the ceiling and bolted down toward her. She was too distracted by flushing to realize what the little twat was actually planning, a swift sweeping kick low to the ground, which actually did trip her up! What a foul trick, no, it was cunning; and probably motivated by male hormones, even still, just who the hell did he think he was? They certainly broke the mold when they created this goofy example of a human high school boy.

"Gotcha…now!" Koga grabbed her by her shoulders after he got her feet off the ground with the kick and flung her to the ground. "So…when do we get to go on our first hot date?" Of course Koga was merely rubbing it in as he watched her struggle to push him off.

Koga got his name for a reason, as a little kid he always loved wrestling with an old stuffed bear in his room; he couldn't help but feel annoyed when he thought back to those days, back to before his parents broke up and his dad up and vanished. Watching Shinku struggle beneath the weight of his body plus the small amount of spirit energy he was forcing down on her made him think, as he listened to the gymnasium clock tick for ten seconds just after he pinned her shoulders to the ground. It was too bad they couldn't have fought longer, but he knew she'd probably kill him if he made her late for class, luckily the bell that rang was simply a five minute warning.

"Humph—you can release me now…" Shinku growled with a very unentertained expression as she watched Koga stand back up. "Though I must ask…why…my chest of all things?" She tilted her head to the side as she watched him dust himself off, as if he were actually dirty besides the many cuts she gave him with her claws.

"Well, your lower parts were out of the question; your ears would just be an annoyance, and your tail would actually leave me open for an easy counter attack…huh?" Koga blinked and stared as Shinku started to chuckle and then ended up laughing for a bit, though she appeared to be holding back just how hard she was really laughing. "Okay is there a joke I missed, cause demons don't normally laugh when they lose a gamble…" Koga was more confused than when he was in math class or science, it was true he had half decent grades, but only in a select few courses.

"Oh it's nothing, you just remind me of someone my father, Kurama keeps going on about…" Shinku paused and walked over to Koga, standing directly in front of him. "You know…" she stated as she placed a hand on his chest, enveloping him in a blue outline that made the tears on his clothes and most of the cuts disappear. "Your blood is as pure as your eyes—I hope you stay that way~" Shinku chimed as she seductively wiped the wet blood from the cut on his cheek, licked it off her finger and turned around to leave.

As Koga stood there, he watched her quickly change back into her human form; there was something about Shinku that always seemed different, now he knew what it was. She was a fox demon, or at least half fox demon, she didn't seem to have any evil traits; other than a possible slightly sadistic side. He decided he wouldn't question her about Kurama; the name alone was famous in spirit world, though on the other hand his father was kind of famous too, for completely different reasons. When he remembered English class was the next session he got a sick feeling in his stomach, he hated his English teacher; she always gave him low marks for sloppy handwriting. So he did what he thought would be a good idea, put his Gi's top layer back on and skip school for the remainder of the day. The teachers can gripe and moan about his attendance all they wanted; he at least turned his homework in on time.

_That's odd, I can feel something rising, a strong spirit energy; and it ain't human, better go check it out. _Koga thought to himself as he noticed a faint white stream of light glowing from downtown, whatever it was, it certainly wasn't good.

There wasn't much else to do at home except get harped at by his mom for skipping school, the arcades were usually too busy this time of day; and his new girl definitely wouldn't miss a class to go to the movies. That spiritual disturbance could be felt from a few blocks away, it couldn't be anything normal, and he was itching for another fight anyway. Today one simple spar didn't seem like enough for him, and as he approached the alley where he saw the flash of light come from; his body grew tense, the spirit power definitely wasn't human. The shadowed figure had just murdered an innocent human, probably testing out their power or something, and that pissed Koga off a bit, if there was anything he hated more in this world it was pointless violence.

Character Wrap Up:

Hey, it's Boton here, you know me right; the guardian of the river Styx? Anyway I'll introduce myself to Koga soon enough, but there's lots of surprises waiting ahead, an old criminal has escaped his prison and is out for blood on Yuske's descendants! That's not all that's going on though; for one thing Koga's in a little over his head when he challenges a random apparition to a dual. Without Gen Kai or Shinku around to back him up, he might not get out of this alive, then again I've got some terrible news for him, I bet you'll be shocked to find out what it is! See you all in the next chapter, it's about to get a little crazy real soon~


	4. Case File 4

Case 4: A Grim Save

Koga couldn't just sit there and let a man get away with a pointless murder, but something was telling him not to hold back either; there wasn't anything normal about this guy that much was clear, what wasn't clear was what set him apart from other humans.

"Well, well…looks like I've got a witness, hmm…I'm a bit too full to drain your life energy, but I guess a little tenderizing before I eat your flesh will suffice!" The stranger that had killed the other person chimed as he licked his lips savagely.

As the man approached Koga could make out his appearance more, a middle aged and muscular man about twice his size, the spiky hair and trench coat with black Jeans didn't really fit in normal clothing. He could sense something like spirit energy leaking out of his skin, it was different, darker, definitely demon energy. Without hesitation Koga charged at the insane man, preparing to pound his face into the ground only to have his strike caught in mid-air, the small outpouring of spirit energy from his fist shattered as well. Before he had a chance to counter the stranger had grabbed Koga by his neck, lifted him up and hit him in the stomach with a blow so devastating that it sent him to his knees; he had to cough up some blood before he managed to get back up on his feet.

"Your punches hit like a freaking cannon ball pall…and you shattered my spirit energy attack like it was nothing, so the question is; who and what are you?" Koga's eyes turned serious as he took the top layer of his Gi off for the second time today, Gen Kai would be furious if she found out but if he was going to defend himself he had to.

"Ha ha, we are not just a single person, we are the Amaki; humans are food for us, though we don't prefer to simply kill our prey. No, this will be more fun!" The Amaki stated with a grin as his eyes started to glow red and a lizard tail grew out of the back of the trench coat.

An Amaki, shit, now I'm definitely screwed; if I kill it they'll have an entire horde sent out after my head. But if I don't fight back I'll be killed, jeeze, why is karma picking on me today! Koga thought in frustration as he prepared to fight the half lizard man for his life.

The Amaki's moves were predictable, it was standard street fighting fare with a little bit of actual martial arts mixed in, Karate was a tough match for his Maui Tai; of course there was a bit of a problem. This beast had a shit ton of experience and spirit power compared to Koga's own energy and training, the blows came faster and faster as the beast began to crave his energy more and more. At one point even Koga's eyes couldn't keep up, as a result he couldn't struggle against such a mighty foe; if he got slammed against the walls of the alley, there'd be a human shaped indent, if he crashed to the ground he'd slide back a few feet before coming to a stop. He just got his first kiss and a new girlfriend today, Koga sure as hell wasn't going down without a fight; even the Amaki seemed amused at how long he lasted.

"Hate to be a real bummer pall but you're making a big mistake not killing me right away…" Koga uttered sarcastically as he struggled to get to his feet after eighteen punches.

"Hmm? Still breathing, interesting, not even fellow Amaki can stand against me this long-no matter, you'll die soon enough boy~" The beast charged at Koga once more and Koga began to smile more as his body started to feel less and less pain from the hefty blows.

Meanwhile on a rooftop out of the way from the intense fight a shadowed and hooded figure in a black suit and black pants stood in anticipation, watching the battle unfold with little concern over the victor. They were neither friend nor foe, a neutral party sent to seek out a particular breed of humans, although it wouldn't be any fun if their target got eliminated before their power could truly grow and transform.

"Yuna, reporting, subject in question isn't faring well against our bait; what are your orders?" The figure whispered quietly with a light smile, both Koga and the Amaki's screams of pain were quite amusing.

"Don't move a muscle rookie; you know that our organization needs test subjects alive. Give it time, our benefactor is very curious about the potential mister Yukimura has." And with that the radio signal was dead in an instant.

Koga could feel that he wasbeing watched, but couldn't place who, he had no time to be concerned with them however as his opponent was still foolishly charging at him blindly; now resorting to using its tail as well as its fists and feet. He'd picked out four or five weakspots in the Amaki's fighting style, the only problem was his body; it had taken too much damage too quick for him to recover by absorbing his opponent's spirit power. Moreover, demon energy didn't feel right in his body, almost like it was rejecting it completely, too bad; he would have to make due with what little he could use.

"Well don't say I didn't warn you, here goes noth—the hell, I can't focus my energy…" Koga was surprised how difficult demon energy was to process, no, it was something else.

"Hehehe we should have told you, even demons don't attack Amaki because our energy is like poison to anyone who tries to eat it. No matter, it is not your mistake, humans are pathetic creatures." The Amaki picked Koga up and threw him into a nearby car, shattering the glass. "They are like rats, they only show their fangs when they cower in a corner~" The beast allowed Koga to stand to his feet before starting another attack.

It all happened so fast, Koga saw the creatures tail heading straight for his diaphragm, shortly afterward it was stopped by a pair of arms belonging to a cloaked figure; were they the person who'd been watching him? His mind couldn't process what was happening as he watched the Amaki's delighted expression slowly become filled with fear at the sight of the figure who'd grabbed its tail.

"Rather ironic you compare humans to rats, when you hive-minded pests are considered the filth of the demon world. Even your own queen could care less if you survive…" The figure tightened its grip around the creature's tail and snapped it off with ease.

"You-you work for them, you speak nonsense, if you kill me mother will send others after your blood!" The Amaki was shaking in terror at the sight of the figure; Koga took notice of an emblem on the back of the trench coat, three sevens, maybe his luck was just bipolar or something.

"Even a green agent fresh from the academy like myself can deal with even a hundred of your kind in mere seconds…as for one, observe…Koga, this is how you release spirit energy from the body properly." The figure's voice was somewhat soothing and calm as it spoke, before it took a different stance. "Hmm…8% of my power should be enough." The figure chimed in a smug tone as it began to concentrate more.

Koga gulped slowly as he watched the figure focus spirit energy around the palm of their hand, a small wind current began to circle around the palm as the spirit energy got stronger and stronger. Time seemed to slow down as the power grew, then all at once and in a shape of a wide arcing cone, spirit energy flashed out from the palm of the figures hand. The Amaki was disintegrated into nothing immediately, and so were many of the cars in the wake of the ten foot long blast, the highway crumbled a little underneath the energy's wake as well.

_You've got to be kidding, I can barely move, and my body is trembling, why?_ Koga's mind was riddled with many questions as he slowly fell unconscious, the figure however reacted in time to break his fall with their arms.

"Relax…your girlfriend sent me…interesting that she picked you, oh well—guess our agency can't use you just yet." It was a sweet, tender voice, and if Koga could hear straight; feminine? The figure's face was hidden underneath a cloak as he lost consciousness.

While Koga was unconscious he had an amazing dream, he was fighting a powerful foe; the more they fought the faster collateral damage grew. What made it so interesting was that although he could tell the figure was human, he couldn't make out what it was; the voice seemed familiar, but also distant. It bugged him when he had dreams like this, because they usually meant something; sometimes a for-warning of things to come, and sometimes visions of other places and people. At one point in the fight his body started attacking him from the inside, and the figure transformed into the lizard creature he was fighting.

"Too bad for you human, you will die soon enough~" The Amake cackled with a sinister grin.

"Sorry, but I think you'll find that people from my town don't go down so easy!" Koga struck a familiar pose, and prepared a mass of spirit energy so great that the light almost blinded him. "Now here's your one way ticket back to hell—spirit gun!" Koga knew he couldn't perform the technique in real life, so he might as well do it like a badass in a dream.

Meanwhile back in reality Gen Kai was outside her home speaking with Shinku over a glass of tea; in an oddly calm fashion considering her best—well second best student was fighting Amake poisoning and standing at death's door. It was amazing that the fox girl could beat her in a game like chess, then again she expected no less from the daughter of Kurama; she couldn't help but snicker when she felt a massive amount of spirit energy forming inside her home.

"That power…it can't possibly be Koga…." Shinku uttered doubtfully the second she picked it up, it did feel like human spirit energy, but Koga's physical state when he was brought to Gen Kai's compound by that cloaked woman was too dire for words.

"Heh…you don't know that dimwit at all do you…" Gen Kai stated with a chuckle, the mass of power was being focused into one point, and she knew exactly where that point was.

"So I'm his classmate and his girlfriend, you expect me to know everything about a boy who only speaks the language of a sarcastic prick?" Shinku tilted her head to the side in surprise, this woman was certainly a bigger mystery than Koga at this point.

"Wait for it…" Gen Kai chimed playfully with her usual all-knowing and cheeky grin.

Shinku blinked at the woman in confusion, what exactly was she supposed to wait for? Surely the old hag would be concerned if her prized student was being threatened by a massive spirit power. Still though, she had to wonder about that smile; it seemed like she knew something that she didn't plan on explaining even to Koga, but what was it? However, her ears weren't twitching for very long when she heard Koga's voice for the first time in a good while.

"Spirit Gun!"

Shortly after that her attention was drawn straight to the ceiling of Gen Kai's house, a massive ball of spirit energy had been fired from an unknown source; it couldn't possibly be that silly human's spirit energy. For one most victims of Amake poisoning didn't make it out alive, let alone with that much spirit power in tact; moreover Koga never showed the kind of ability to create such a blast, he lacked the concentration and control to release his spirit power that readily. Suddenly she felt a need to check on him just to be sure, and rushed to Koga's side into the wooden home, or rather the part of her compound he was sleeping in at least.

"Welcome back to the world of the living, well the conscious at least…how do you feel dimwit?" Gen Kai asked with her usual nonchalant tone of voice, she really didn't care for Koga that much; but she owed Yuske one from way back when so she figured her debt was paid.

"Uh…like I got run over by a steam roller? Hmm…" Koga blinked when he noticed the new sky light and the position he had his arms in, the exact pose for firing a spirit gun aside from lying down in a cot. "I did it again didn't I…dammit…how come that guy's stupid technique works in my dreams but when I'm wide awake I can't do the move any better than kibbles can!" He snapped in frustration when he realized what happened, sure the blast wasn't nearly as devastating as it was in his dream but it was something that would scare the crap out of anyone who even heard the name Yurameshi before and lived to talk about it.

"Koga—that technique wasn't meant for you; and your power is completely different than your father's. That and your mother personally made me swear not to teach it to you anyway, and you know how your mother is when she gets fussy…" Gen Kai stated with a light sigh, she still had bruises on the back of her head from when she last visited Yukimura's home.

"You do have a point; mom can be pretty scary sometimes when she puts her mind to it. So how long have I been out, a couple of hours…maybe a day or two?" Koga asked with a raised brow, half surprised to see Shinku there at his side looking all concerned for him.

"Try about three weeks…summer break has started already~" Shinku responded tauntingly as she patted him on the head, hoping he wouldn't go crazy.

"Three weeks—oh man, oh man…I'm so busted this time! Uh thanks for taking care of me ya old hag but I gotta run!" Koga shouted in shock before bolting out of Gen Kai's house, probably around the speed of a bullet.

Koga wasn't panicked because Keiko worried about him a little too much at times; it was his fearsome English teacher he was fearful of. He knew just how scary she could be about turning homework in late, it was one of the few classes he actually put effort into learning; and his nearly finished essay on a certain book was going to stand for thirty percent of his grade.

"Koga? Koga~ thank goodness you're alright, when Gen Kai called I thought you'd—hmm?" Keiko was surprised to see him home and fully recovered so soon, she heard about some kind of accident but Gen Kai refused to disclose any of the details.

Koga stopped in front of his mother for a brief moment to explain what happened, he fabricated a story to prevent her from going ape, claiming it was a training exorcise from his martial arts instructor. After that he dashed around the house frantically, searching every drawer in his room. His room didn't have too much to brag about, a nice tv, a game system or two; a chair and a bed; as well as a computer desk and accompanying computer. It was like a mini office room with a bed more or less, which also had a bed for his cat to sleep in. Speaking of which he found his essay underneath the large Russian Blue, who was purring loudly with delight.

"Sorry to disturb your sleep kibbles…but I need those papers…" Koga waited patiently for a couple of seconds after poking the cat before finally deciding to pick it up by its neck carefully and taking his essay.

The cat simply meowed in protest before following Koga downstairs while he finished up his essay on a popular novel about myths and legends coming together. Once his final thoughts on the book were finished he bolted past Keiko once more; stopping only to give her a one arm hug and to tell her not to worry about him as much. Kibbles on the other hand stayed behind to beg for some attention, and probably for some snuggling as well.

"Koga…what am I gonna do with you—you're acting just like your father did at your age…" Keiko sighed as she lifted the cat up and looked in its eyes. "Don't worry he says, you know I always come home in one piece he says…I swear, if I didn't know that boy always told the truth I'd seriously doubt what's going on in his head." She paused and waited to see if Kibbles was paying attention, another cranky meow came out as a result, while it turned its head toward the food bowl in the kitchen. "Not like you care…fine fine, I'll get you some dog food then." Keiko finally gave up on trying to understand her son fully; in truth, the boy took after his father more than her, it was one of the reasons she worried about him.

At this point Koga had already made it to his high school, as frantically as he was running he didn't notice that there were no students around; he didn't care, he was going to pass this English class if it killed him. After knocking on the door to her room he was almost too nervous to go in, he thought about knocking once more but his train of thought was interrupted. Instead of being in the classroom as usual she was walking down the hallway with a slight grin on her face; she was cracking her knuckles as well.

"Well if it isn't the class delinquent, care to explain your absence these past few weeks, at least before summer break started. I'm sure it's an interesting story…" The tall and well-toned woman stated playfully as she approached him.

"Eh…I uh…got jumped by some guys from a rival school and got my ass handed to me? I tried to tell em I wasn't in the mood to fight but they insisted; it was kind of tough actually~ you should see how they ended up Ms. Angel." Well it wasn't a complete lie, so he felt good about that at least.

"Koga…" Angel sighed as she swiped the essay from Koga's hands and gave it a quick once over. "You are talented, but you lack focus…why don't you quit being a street punk and focus on schoolwork? I'm sure you have quite the academic brain when you put your mind to it." She questioned with concern as she thought about it for a moment.

"Sorry but that ain't gonna happen, I'm trying to honor both of my folks and that means taking on traits from both of em. At least I picked the good things from my mom…" Koga responded with sarcasm written all over his forehead.

Koga honestly didn't understand this kind of crap, he got it from Keiko, he got it from his dad when he was still around, he got it from the old hag, and now his teachers were starting to shove their preaching down his throat. Why, what did it matter to them if his life wasn't oh so perfect or that he got great grades all the time? It's not like they knew about his dreams, his ultimate goal in life; and being a street punk was one of the ways he hoped to attain that goal faster. The other puzzle going through his head was why an English teacher was practically a supermodel, or at the very least built more like a gym teacher.

"I just worry about you that's all, and you know your mother does as well; believe it or not people actually do care about you. Acting like a street punk and picking fights won't bring him back…" Angel uttered sadly as she crossed her arms and eyed him over, she was caught off guard when he suddenly punched a hole in the wall with his fist.

"Where the hell do you get off?! You think this has anything to do with my dad just up and vanishing and leaving nothing but a freaking will! I don't care if you think I'm "Acting out" or whatever, but I am who I am; and none of your stupid prep talks to get over depression can change that." Koga growled in a bitter tone as he started releasing his spirit energy.

"Forgive me…I just thought—" Angel was cut off when Koga threatened to punch her, he really was angry; at what or why she couldn't understand.

"Yeah well you thought wrong lady; listen and listen good cause I hate repeating myself! I'm me and you're you, and no amount of counseling or psychological trauma can change that. Even if I am angry, it's not cause my dad left…it's _who_ he left so quit acting like you know everything about me!" Koga couldn't help but feel like he'd crossed a line, but that was one of the few bad buttons to press when he wasn't prepared to talk about it.

"Oh my—now we're getting somewhere~" Angel responded teasingly as she patted him on the head. "Again, forgive me…I can't help but pry sometimes…it's my job as a teacher to look after my students after all. Anyway if you only came here to turn in your essay then you may leave—unless you're signing up for my summer study group?" She really couldn't help but tease him a little more, it was kind of fun seeing what made students tick; but she did understand that she may have struck a wrong nerve.

Koga honestly had no clue what went on in the blonde haired, classily dressed broad's head, who claimed to know a thing or two about English; but he didn't care since she did back off a little bit on his personal issues. Of course the conversation still left him in one of those 'man against the world' moods, to the point where he was mumbling to himself about how much life sucked most of the time and that nothing decently entertaining ever happened to him. Other than his near-death experience with that Amake, but that was beside the point; his life was even more ho-hum than his punk fathers was at his age, before the whole spirit detective thing started.

"Man…why do I get so hot headed over my dad, I just don't get it…I mean sure he was an ass of a father but he was still my old man…" Koga was about halfway home when he came up on an intersection on the highways, he had to stop because he'd noticed the light changing.

While the light was still red he took the time to do a double take at one of the oddest dressed people he'd ever seen; it was a twenty year old girl who seemed just as lost in thought as he was, perhaps about something completely different but still. It wasn't her icy blue kimono that perked his attention, but the similarly colored hair, and the fact that the whole area seemed cold as she approached. He almost thought about ditching Shinku for her, but even though their relationship was only forged from a bet; he would rather avoid the wrath of Kurama's kid. While he still had his wits about him the odd girl started crossing the street when the light turned green.

"Typical…" Koga moaned as he started to dash for the highway in question. "Get out of the road lady!" It seemed she heard his shouting, mere seconds before he shoved her out of the way of the speeding truck. He managed to use his spirit energy to stop the truck long enough for her and the other drivers to react.

On the rooftop of a building a few miles away a couple of demons were camping out with some hunting equipment; both of them were black skinned beasts that were basically werewolves with at least some intelligence. One of the two beasts seemed delighted at the sight of the girl in the blue dress, but a twisted grin appeared when he noticed Koga saving her.

"Oy Boomer…ain't that guy the punk the Amake were after?" One of the demons asked curiously as he mounted his sniper rifle; well the demon world equivalent of one at least.

"Lemme see em!" Boomer growled as he whipped out a pair of binoculars to check it out. "Yeah-yeah it is him awrite…hmm, an ice apparition and a bounty in one day, too much of a crowd to tag and bag em both though." He paused in thought as if he really cared about the choice between which bounty to shoot at. "Ah to hell with it, let's cash in on Yukimura brat, he's worth more dead than alive anyway." He finished nonchalantly as he shrugged his shoulders.

Back where Koga was standing in the middle of a highway with an eighteen wheeler shoved in his face some on-lookers seemed pretty shocked; Koga figured as much since it wasn't every day a normal human stopped a moving vehicle with his face and lived to tell about it. His body was still kind of wrecked from that fight, so the impact just about made him faint; but he still managed to stay on his feet and turn toward the girl and force a smile.

"Wow…you saved me…you look like someone my mother knew too~" The girl stated blissfully as she dusted herself off and shook off the surprise. "How can I ever repay you mister?" She asked tilting her head to the side as she watched him struggle to stay on his feet.

"Hehe…I'd ask for a motorboat but I wouldn't have to use much horsepower on a flat girl like you…" Okay, he half expected her to kick him in the balls with that line, but that's when she surprised him with something interesting.

"Come again? I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean…at least let me heal your wounds.." The girl offered in a sweet tone as she approached Koga and heaved one of his arms over her shoulder.

That was the last thing Koga remembered hearing before everything went pitch black, he couldn't even sense spirit energy, and when he awoke he was surprised to find himself floating in the air high above the street he was walking on. It seemed like a car accident had occurred but he couldn't exactly put together what happened; the disturbing part of it was that some doctors were putting someone that looked a lot like him into an ambulance. Everything about what happened before this moment was kind of fuzzy, like it was a bad dream or something and he just woke up.

"Okay Koga think…bashed up truck plus an ambulance plus a guy in a body bag that looks like me…it all equals what…gah w—wait, I—I'm d…dead?!" Koga stated in shock when he realized why he hadn't fallen down from the sky yet.

"Bingo! You know you certainly caught on quicker than a certain other person in your family did~ well maybe not that much quicker…" It was an unfamiliar female voice, that was way to perky even if she had a serious attitude.

"And let me guess…you're lady death here to ferry my useless soul to heaven or hell or wherever I'm supposed to go right?" Koga moaned sarcastically as he gave the woman a grim stare.

The girl he saved in the street had nothing on this woman, he'd never met anyone who could cheerfully declare that someone was dead. A middle aged woman in a pink kimono riding an oar like a freaking broomstick sure didn't sound like lady death material to him; in fact it sounded more like a character from a fictional novel.

"Don't be so glum about it! To be honest the way you died just now was much more heroic than how you were supposed to die next Thursday~" The woman stopped and grinned at Koga playfully before. "Silly me—I forgot to introduce myself, my names Boton~" she finished with that silly grin plastered on her face still.

Koga moaned as he took in what Boton just said, he liked defending the weak as much as the next able-minded fighter but he was far from what one considered heroic. In fact he felt like a plot device for some bad fanfiction or something; but that would be pushing his suspension of disbelief a bit too far. After a couple moments of awkward silence he quickly slapped his forehead with his palm to make sure he understood things correctly.

"Boton…right…so…I'm afraid to ask this…but how exactly was I supposed to die?" Koga was genuinely curious about what the heavens originally planned for him, since he died unexpectedly.

"I could tell you but you're just going to get angry and yell at me…" Boton stated in protest as she waved a finger at him like a teacher disciplining a student.

"I'm a ghost floating above the streets of my hometown ten minutes from my house talking to a happy go lucky incarnation of lady death—I think I can handle whatever twisted fate god had planned for me." Koga responded with sarcasm in his tone, something about this woman just rubbed him the wrong way.

"Hmm—well let's see here…Koga…that name's bear-ly used these days…" Boton stated in a calm tone as she pulled out her pocketbook and flipped through some pages. "Ah—here we are…it was either food poisoning from sushi or a snakebite…" She finished with a small twinge of embarrassment in her tone, she didn't know all the details all the time after all.

"Food poisoning or a snakebite!" Koga snapped in a bitter tone as he crossed his arms and paced in mid-air. "That figures, a boring as hell life and a boring as crap death…hmm; still I did die saving that girl earlier. How come I'm a ghost then?" He couldn't quite grasp the whole logic behind being a ghost, but he wasn't as shocked as one might imagine.

Boton was taken aback by how calmly Koga was reacting to all this; he was a polar opposite compared to her first little project in the beginning. As she watched him pace in thought she found herself curious as well and decided to look more up on him, there weren't any spectacular notes about his lifestyle or his personality. If anything he resembled Keiko more than Yuske, which could be a very good thing or a very bad thing if things went the wrong way. She was perfectly fine learning more about him anyway; apparently his tough guy attitude was just a façade true he did have his mind in the gutter once in a while, but there were some fairly redeeming qualities mixed in with the bad ones. Unfortunately that's all her information said about it, and then she read about why he became a ghost; and immediately started to blush in embarrassment.

"Any luck lady death, hmm…that nickname doesn't suit you very well—hey I know, how about grim-chan~" Koga was mainly teasing, he just couldn't help himself around an attractive girl, even if she was the weirdest incarnation of the grim reaper ever imagined.

"You've definitely got some Keiko in you…" Boton uttered in annoyance as she tried to control her short fuse. "Hmm…well there's nothing too interesting, but it says here you're still a—are you serious? You're telling me the only reason a half-decent guy like you became a ghost is because you haven't had sex yet?!" The flushing was now more out of anger than embarrassment, sometimes her job was more stressful than it needed to be.

"I'm a college student, what…you expected something more noble…sorry but that's my dad's shtick, not mine and even he pushed the logic of what was considered noble. Although I guess that explains it, I was thinking about Kurama's daughter right before I blacked out for some awkward—hormone driven reason…hmm." Koga was a little surprised by Boton's reaction, he figured that because she was the grim reaper she'd be a little more under control; no such luck unfortunately.

"Alright…I'll probably be kicking myself in the head later…but how would you like a shot at an interesting job opportunity. It's something that's exclusive to someone with your capabilities…I know how much you don't want to remind Keiko of Yuske but this could get you into some really tough battles." Boton had a feeling Koenma might not approve, or even if Koga was worthy of the trial, let alone the title; but she was bored to death after so much peace, pardon the pun.

"Hmm…so this job of yours, if I take it there's a possibility of me meeting some hot apparitions both good and bad right? Alright Boton you've perked my curiosity, on one condition…but I'll explain that to your boss—whoever the heck they are anyway…" Koga responded with sarcasm in his tone as he thought about it, she seemed to be rambling at this point so he figured he might as well humor her.

Character Wrap Up: Shinku

Greetings, I'm sure you're rolling your eyes at how Koga is behaving, but the canon material similarities end here I assure you! It looks like my new pet-er I believe the human word is boyfriend is getting a second chance, at a certain price; I don't care how strong he thinks he is he's not ready for that kind of responsibility. Wait, what do you mean his body has been stolen—what, a ransom, those bastards! Not while Shinku is on guard, don't you worry Keiko, I'll have your son back in time if it kills me~ Hmm…Keiko, what on earth—how did you learn to do that?! I bet you're at least somewhat curious now aren't you, see you next chapter!


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